In the Media

The Environmental Protection Agency is suggesting that water utilities nationwide test their drinking water for hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen, after an independent survey released earlier this week found the chemical in tap water drawn from 31 cities, including Bend.

A test of tap water in 35 cities across the U.S. has found the possible carcinogen hexavalent chromium in 31 of those cities — including Bend.

Representatives of the Avion Water Co. say they’re concerned about a new study that found potentially dangerous levels of a cancer-causing compound in its water but are not yet convinced the research is scientifically sound.

The Bulletin’s put-down of wilderness status for the lower Whychus and Deschutes junction was predictable. If any environmentalist or environmentalist group proposes something, it will almost certainly be opposed by your paper.

The city of Bend responded Wednesday to claims that the Bridge Creek water system is operating illegally, describing allegations made by a nonprofit conservation organization as an attempt to delay or derail an upgrade to the city’s water system.

Bend city councilors are scheduled to decide Wednesday on what water treatment method they want to include as part of a proposed $73 million overhaul of its Bridge Creek infrastructure that supplies about half the municipality's annual water supply.

Bend city councilors will grapple with a number of talking-point issues during their meeting Wednesday, causing them to kick off a work session about 30 minutes before the regular starting time.

When WaterWatch of Oregon filed a complaint with the state this week alleging the city of Bend’s Bridge Creek water system was operating illegally, the thrust of the argument was that the city wasn’t putting all the water it diverted to a “beneficial use.”

The city of Bend is determined — and we mean determined — to plow ahead with an enormously expensive project that will allow the continued diversion of water that otherwise would end up in Tumalo Creek and, eventually, the Deschutes River.